Remember Me
by wiffyscoob
Summary: Childhood best friends meet and stir up more than old memories.
1. My Protector

Disclaimer: All about Joss, not me.

A/N: This was supposed to be done by Christmas since it IS a Christmas story, to an extent anyways. But…well, I wasn't able to finish it by then so it's on the late side. It was also supposed to be only a short and now it has grown into two chapters.

AU All Human

Background: Buffy lives in Sunnydale from the beginning and is best friends with Willow and Xander. Buffy and Willow are seven when she leaves. More details will be revealed in next chapter.

All flashbacks take place at different times anywhere between the ages of six and seven. If I want to be specific about their ages for a certain flashback I will make it known.

Flashbacks are in italics and bolds.

Willow's internal dialogue is in italics.

... is scene break

Summary: Childhood best friends meet by chance and stir up more than old memories.

_**Willow was scared. **_

_**No, not scared; terrified.**_

"_**C'mon, Will." Her best friend tugged on her overalls. **_

_**Willow stared. "It's dark in there. What if there are big bad hairy monsters with fangs…or snakes with fangs…or maybe even giant frogs…frogs are evil…yesterday one attacked my foot! And then-"**_

"_**Willow! There are no monster snakes or frogs in there. I monster-proofed it." Buffy continued to yank on her friend's overalls.**_

"_**Really?" Willow was doubtful but so wanted to believe. But if Buffy said so, it must be true.**_

"_**Really," the little girl grinned. "I'll protect you."**_

_**Willow flushed a deep red. "Um, okay, I guess…as long as you're there too."**_

"_**Don't worry. I'll always be here." Buffy wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulders.**_

"_**You're my Willow."**_

_**...**_

"Grumble, grumble."

Willow furrowed her brow as she watched the well-dressed guests walk up the cobbled path to the lavishly decorated large house. Or should that be mansion. Willow suspected the latter.

The bottom half of what appeared to be a gigantic Christmas tree was visible through the living room bay windows. Willow had the idea it could give the Rockefeller Christmas tree in Times Square a run for its money. The home was so obviously expensive; Willow was surprised it wasn't set farther off the road only to be accessed by an iron gate with a security code or guard.

It was all Xander's fault she was here in the first place. It's not like she knew anyone at this party. And that was the other thing. Criminey, she was Jewish, and this was a Christmas, yes, C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S party. Okay, so she had been to other Christmas parties but the whole situation was making her grumpy. Willow felt the irrational need to grouse at any and every little thing and wondered how long before her mood caused her to do something prompting an eviction from the party.

Xander and his wife Anya were supposed to be meeting her here. After five years of marriage, Willow could not help but wonder what on earth possessed him to marry the very blunt, money and sex-crazed woman. Wait scratch that; sex-crazed said it all, providing the service to Xander's never ending libido.

Willow sighed as she considered her own lack of partner. For the last three years her love life had rated a big zero. Zip, nada, bupkis. After her lover Tara had been killed by a stray bullet the redhead hadn't been much in the mood for anything in the smoochies department. Even Willow's vibrator saw little activity.

So Willow buried herself in her work. Understandably Xander was concerned about her. They had been best friends since they were knee high to a grasshopper. He was expected to attend this party as co-owner (or head hardhat guy, as Xander liked to put it) of Hellmouth Construction. They had been one of several construction firms contracted by some innocuous business called Wolfram & Hart in Los Angeles. All Willow knew was that the mansion belonged to one of their silent partners. This party was not only a Christmas party but also a well deserved thank you to the various companies involved in the construction of the new head offices for the company.

Willing her self to leave the car, Willow sighed and reached for the door handle. Grimacing at the flash of sunlight temporarily blinding her, she abruptly dropped her hand into the shade of her lap to cover the cause of the blindness: a charm bracelet with simply half of a mitzpah coin. Willow smirked.

"Buffy, you're supposed to protect me, not cause me to lose my eyesight!" As usual, it occurred to her that talking to an inanimate object like it was a real person could classify her as one step from the loony bin. But Willow didn't care. And although she felt a pang of guilt at the confession, she knew this bracelet meant as much if not more than any of treasures from Tara's, including the doll's eye crystal.

"And don't give me your "Whoops! Sorry, Willow!" either. I don't want to hear it, missy! Your primary mission is to protect me from any sources of badness, and I'm sure there is multitudes to be found at a party filled with rich, snobby people." Willow lightly slapped the bracelet in pretended admonishment. "So now do your job, missy!" Willow softened. "Remember? I'm your Willow."

Groaning, she realized she was simply delaying the inevitable and opening the car door, stepped into the cool afternoon air.

...

Willow smoothed her blue sweater and rang the doorbell.

"You don't have to do that, you know."

Willow nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice and its owner who was standing just a little too close for the redhead's comfort. Stepping back, Willow said, "Well…I don't really know anyone here, and it just seemed the polite thing to do."

"Of course you do. You know me."

"Actually, I don't."

Willow wanted to wipe that smirk off of the young brunette woman who had the rich, "I get whatever I want" look.

"Sure you do. I'm Kennedy," the young woman practically purred.

_Quick, think up an excuse._

"Although I don't know anyone already here, but MY GIRLFRIEND…um…ANYA…will be here soon."

_Goddess, I can't believe I'm using Anya as my girlfriend._

Kennedy's eyes traveled up and down Willow's body. "Now what kind of girl would leave you alone for any amount of time?"

At this awful pick up line Willow went from nervous to greatly annoyed, going so far as to roll her eyes. "Look…Kennedy, is it? If that pick-up line is the best you can do, I doubt you'll get any girl interested whatsoever. I told you. My girlfriend is meeting me here so please just drop it. Not to mention she has a jealous streak a mile wide and well, violence may occur."

Kennedy shrugged, still smirking. "If you change your mind-"

"Trust me. I won't." Hoping her tone signaled an end to the conversation, Willow opened the front door.

Pushing past the woman, she sought to be in a place that was a long elsewhere.

...

Attempting to navigate through the thick ground, Willow cursed her height challenged body.

Where the hell was Xander?

If only she was able to find a discreet area, the redhead could check her cell. Heck, hiding out in a closet began to sound appealing. Before anything else however, was the need to put as much distance between her and the obnoxious full of herself woman.

It had been over half n hour and just as she started to relax, Willow was pushed by some boisterous guests, most of whom should trade their never-ending cocktails for strong coffee. The distracted redhead stumbled, nearly crashing into the long buffet table. Willow steadied herself, and belatedly noticed a small stain of shrimp dipping sauce on her new sweater. She huffed, finding one more thing to gripe about. Willow reached for a napkin only to have one handed from behind her.

"Here you go."

Willow grabbed the napkin, turned around ready to offer her thanks, only to find herself standing far too close to the smirking spoiled brat again.

"So…I see your girlfriend hasn't arrived. Are you sure she's meeting you here? I can help you look if you'd like. "

"No thank you." Willow groaned inwardly, her eyes roaming the sea of people to consider her next move.

A fortuitous parting of the crowd brought hope: a beautiful blonde woman heading towards the back of the house.

...

_**Willow bit her lip, indecision evident on her small freckled face.**_

_**Where was her best friend? **_

_**She peeked through the staircase bars at the party down below her, looking anxiously while trying to remain unobtrusive. Willow briefly considered searching through Mommy and Daddy's very tall friends but they frightened the little redhead. There were so many, and she could have sworn some were monsters, ready to attack her as soon as she was within reach. A few women were so pale, ugly with large amounts of make-up and wearing blood red or black leather. With fashionable high heeled boots just made for stomping on little girls. Long, colored nails, ready to scratch your eyes out. Willow shivered at this thought.**_

_**Then she heard something that gave her hope. **_

"_**Have you seen my daughter?" It sounded like Buffy's mom! Willow couldn't see her, but it sounded like she was close by.**_

"_**No. Well, not lately. I thought Bunny went upstairs to play with Willow." That was Mommy's voice. **_

"_**I think she's in your backyard, Joyce. I saw a light up in the tree house just awhile ago." The voice of Ms. Calendar made Willow smile. She was one of Willow's favorite older adult type people. Ms. Calendar allowed Willow to come to her house, and taught Willow fun stuff like computers. **_

"_**Oh, BUFFY is generally a good girl, but she can have a tendency to get into trouble so I worry."**_

_**Mommy never could remember Buffy's name. Sometimes Willow could have sworn Mommy did that on purpose.**_

"_**Well I won't argue with that, dear. We all know Betty's past, especially all the times she has destroyed public property. But I'd like to think my little Willow is a good influence on her. Don't worry, Joyce. Betty is fine although you may want to go home briefly to make sure she hasn't destroyed your house. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd better check on Ira. He really isn't very good in social situations. His memory is always in the clouds somewhere. I don't think he remembers half the people we invited. Not their names at any rate. See you later, Joyce dear."**_

_**Willow watched her mommy come into view to find her daddy among their very scary friends, and once again Willow was glad she wasn't down there.**_

"_**I'm sure she's fine, Joyce," Ms. Calendar sounded comforting. "I haven't seen a lot of Buffy outside of her tagging along with Willow from time to time to my house, but she has always seemed very capable of taking care of herself…and Willow for that matter."**_

_**Suddenly everything sank into Willow's brain and she felt very hurt. Ms. Calendar was right; Buffy always looked out for her. But now she wasn't here. Her friend had left her on purpose. **_

_**Something she said she would never do.**_

_**...**_

Willow seized the appearance of the gorgeous blonde like a life buoy.

"Oh! I just saw my girlfriend. She was on her way towards the back. I need to go." Willow nudged her way through the throng. Not even needing to turn around, Willow sensed Kennedy's presence.

Above the din, Willow thought she heard calls of "Elizabeth!" and "Elizabeth! How are you?" in the blonde's direction as the woman weaved her way through the mass. The blonde however seemed to be oblivious to their hails.

She was so quick and so short that Willow almost lost her two or three times. As they made their way down the long hall, the tiny blonde suddenly took a sharp right. Willow followed the turn only to be sidetracked by a particularly animated group discussing the newest artist sensation's show at the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art. The redhead barely dodged the arms flying about in enthusiasm, only just catching sight of the blonde disappearing seemingly through a solid wall located at the end of the long hall.

Finally arriving at her destination, the hapless redhead ignored a lip locked couple close by and scanned right, left, up, down; even going so far as to run her hands across the paneling. Willow heard snickering in her ear, "Looks like your girl took an escape route. You sure she's not trying to avoid you?" Then Kennedy paused for effect, "if that even WAS your girlfriend."

Willow ignored that last bit. "Anya would never do that. She's a very considerate girlfriend." Willow had to bite her lip to keep from laughing; Anya was not even considerate to Xander. "She probably just took a wrong turn to the bathroom or something."

"The only people who have keys to that door are friends and family of the Summers'." Willow started at the female voice, and her head turned to see that the lip locked couple had come up for air. A long finger pointed to what Willow now saw was the barest trace of a door with a very small old fashioned lock neatly camouflaged as part of the wood paneled hallway's décor. "What does your friend look like?" The woman questioned. Willow detected a bit of curiosity but considering the type of guests she had encountered before, this woman seemed genuine in her willingness to help.

"Well…my girlfriend, actually…she has long blonde hair, very pretty…beautiful really… and short…" Willow gestured Kennedy's way, "as small as this woman next to me." She could sense the glowering by Kennedy and continued just to irk the irritating brunette, "Although Kennedy here is probably even shorter."

"I am not that short!"

The woman seemed momentarily non-pulsed before she replied to Willow's question. "That sounds like Elizabeth Summers."

_Elizabeth Summers? Shouldn't I know that name? _

Before she could puzzle anything out in her hazy, distracted brain, the woman smirked, saying,"Last I heard she was straight. But you never know anymore. Do you?" The woman appraised Willow, "Then again, if the right woman came along…" Willow's entire body flushed the color of her hair at this innuendo. "Well, live and let live, that's my motto." The woman shrugged. "At any rate, you look harmless enough..." she subjected Kennedy to a glare. "I'm not sure about your friend here. This door leads to some secluded part of the estate grounds, but that's all I know. The only other access to the grounds is through the kitchen reserved for guests."

"Um, okay, thanks."

The woman didn't say any more as her groping boyfriend had finally succeeded in recapturing her attention. She became lip locked again, no longer concerned with Willow's plight.

"I'll just go…" Willow pointed unnecessarily. "Bye."

Willow turned heel and set about elbowing her way through the crowd towards the kitchen, unfortunately with Kennedy still in tow.

...

A cacophony of sights and sounds and smells hit the redhead as she entered the kitchen. Assorted veggies were being chopped, meat and fish sautéed. There was a mix of age, color, and gender chefs in typical white garb now stained with the fruits of their labors, and servers resplendent in decorative red and green uniforms obviously designed with the holidays in mind. The staff alternated between laughing, shouting, and sometimes cursing at each other in different languages. As she passed one chef, she feared for her life as he brandished a knife at his assistant.

Amazingly the redhead made her way to the back door without incident; the same couldn't be said for Kennedy who collided head on with a server.

...

Willow burst through the kitchen exit into what she supposed was the servants and delivery entrance.

Immediately she noticed the expanse of the grounds. There seemed to be no end, and Willow frowned. Dusk was approaching sometime within the next hour but surely there was enough light to see a cut off point. Apparently that wasn't the case. Willow had no idea how long it would take her to find the elusive blonde woman. She really didn't relish the thought of being out there in the dark.

It was this thought that jerked Willow into her own absurd reality; trying to locate someone she didn't know to pose as her girlfriend, simply to get some obnoxious woman off her back who couldn't seem to take no as answer.

_A big yellow line runs right down my spineless spine with neon letters screaming, "Willow's a big ol' coward". Yes sir-eee bob; a big coward, that's me._

Willow sighed heavily and heard Kennedy arguing with someone with the catering company just on the other side of the door.

"If you want, I can say you went around to the front of the house." A voice to her right brought her attention to a server indulging in a smoke. He pointed to the lit up path on the other side of him.

She grinned sheepishly. "That obvious, huh?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Willow nervously licked her dry lips and gave a brief nod of thanks, not sure if she would take him up on the offer. The redhead was about to say more, but from the sounds, Kennedy was almost upon her.

Aw, screw it.

She wouldn't stay out more than a half hour whether she found the blonde woman or not. If she came back and Kennedy was still at the party, she could just take off regardless of whether Xander was there or not.

Why she didn't simply leave the party now entered her mind, but she was aware this was more than an excuse to get away from Kennedy. As illogical as it was, she wanted to find this elusive woman called Elizabeth Summers. She needed to find her.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she hurriedly headed out into the endless horizon.


	2. My Rescuer

**Disclaimer: **See Chapter One

**A/N:** Some things to know before you read:

**-**I know this took forever and a day but the logistics for this chapter were a nightmare. After much deliberation, this entire story is written from Willow's POV and will be a three chapter story so this is 2 of 3.

-RL and my health have been very difficult to deal with, so my writing is slow but I'm still working on my stories.

-I want to give a shout out to my beta Rebecca Ashling for all her wonderful ideas and support;. Over the past year has become a very good friend. Thank you to Wispr as well for all of his ideas, support, and friendship, as well as formatting for IKOLY2. You guys rock!

-You will notice I have made rather liberal amounts of the use of parentheses. Over the past year, I have become a Warehouse 13 addict. (if you haven't seen this show, do it now! It resides next to Buffy in my heart, which I had previously thought was an impossibility) There have been a few Warehouse 13 writers who have used this style. It's considered a more informal style and I grew to like it. I've become tired of writing the same way all of the time so I wanted to give it a go and incorporated it into this story.

-Bold and Italics are Buffy's and Willow's childhood flashbacks. These flashbacks actually are part of one long continuous flashback of a party held by a seven year-old Willow's parents. The first scene of that flashback is in the previous chapter where little Willow is watching the party between the stair bannisters, wondering where Buffy is. The first childhood flashback in this chapter picks up where that one left off and will continue until the end of the story.

-Keep in mind that the writing for the flashbacks is juvenile on purpose as I am telling it from a seven year-old Willow POV.

Italics indicate Willow's thoughts and word emphasis

* * *

**Chapter 2-My Rescuer**

_**It was dark, and scary things hid in the dark.**_

_**But Willow felt brave. She was determined to find her friend. **_

_**Willow tried, but couldn't understand why Buffy left without telling her. After all, Buffy wouldn't just leave her Willow on purpose...would she?  
**_

_**The little redhead shook her head fiercely. **_

_**No, she would not let bad thoughts stand in her way!  
**_

_**"Yes," Willow whispered firmly to herself, wearing full resolve face. "Buffy had a reason that was good...very good...the good-est of all that is good...and..stuff...yeah."**_

_**Her babble made her feel better, but just to be on the safe side (because it was always good to be on the safe side, Willow thought) she knocked on the wooden stair pole three times, scrunched her eyes closed, and chanted, "I believe. I believe. I believe." **_

_**Then Willow's eyes opened, for she remembered Ms. Calender saying she saw the light on in their fort in Buffy's backyard.  
**_

_**That must be where her friend is!  
**_

_**Mommy and Daddy would never give permission to go over to Buffy's house. They told her she must stay upstairs during the party and Willow always followed the rules.**_

_**Well, usually. **_

_**Buffy could be very convincing. **_

_**But maybe it would be okay if she found Buffy and brought her back to the party before anyone found out. **_

_**Yes, that would make it okay for her to leave the house. **_

_**Mommy and Daddy couldn't be mad about that, right?**_

_**Willow hurried from the bannister to her bedroom. From there she took the small, yellow flashlight covered with little flower stickers by her bed and stuffed it into one of her overalls' pockets. **_

_**Next she put on her favorite red Snoopy hoodie and her emerald green stocking cap, making sure it was good and tight so it wouldn't fall off her head. Then Willow left her room and went to the bannister. She watched all of the people as she bit her lip, thinking.**_

_**If she went really fast, the scary people from her mommy and daddy's party wouldn't see her. **_

_**And she would run faster than the speed of light! **_

_**Well, maybe not light, cuz no one goes that fast.**_

_**But it would be the speed of something that was very, very fast!**_

_**So Willow went down the stairs as quick as her little legs could carry her. She zigged and zagged through the scary, tall grownups who were all talking about stupid stuff. They were drinking something called alcohol (that could make you sick if you drank too much) and eating food with smelly, gross dip. **_

_**Bursting through the door to the kitchen, Willow was relieved to find no one there. The little redhead was still very worried she would get caught. So just in case, she flew through the kitchen and out the back door. **_

_**Straight away, Willow sped to the fence separating her and Buffy's backyard. The little redhead reached the fence lickety-split and thought she would die from going so fast. Her heart was pounding so very, very hard and she couldn't breathe!**_

_**There was a tree in this spot where Willow now stood, and if you were small, you could stand behind the trunk and no one would see you. **_

_**(Which is exactly what Willow was doing now)**_

_**The little redhead gulped in air as quietly as she could and decided to risk a look behind the tree. **_

_**She made it!**_

_**Woo hoo!**_

_**Willow could breathe like a regular person now and wiped her sweaty brow with her little hand. As she worried her lip, she peeked through the crack in the wooden fence. **_

_**There was a light up above in a tree.**_

_**Yay!**_

_**It was Buffy!**_

_**Warily, Willow eyed the bushes next to her. There was a very, very secret place at the fence to get into Buffy's backyard that Mommy and Daddy didn't know about. If you moved a wooden plank in just a certain way, there was a hole just large enough for a little girl to crawl through. **_

_**But to get to the very, very secret place, you had to crawl through miles and miles of big, thick bushes, and it took hours and hours to get into Buffy's backyard.**_

_**Well maybe not "hours and hours". **_

_**And maybe not "miles and miles".**_

_**But it was really far and took a really long time!**_

_**Plus it was filled with frogs, bugs, frogs, monsters, and did she mention FROGS?**_

_**The little redhead furrowed her brow, thinking hard. Buffy had monster-proofed these bushes yesterday. It took longer than that for monsters and frogs to appear, right? **_

_**Willow frowned.**_

_**Could she really do this without Buffy?**_

_**Yes, she gave a firm nod of her head.**_

_**After all, she was tough, mean, and gruff and stuff.**_

_**Grrr.**_

_**Willow drew a deep breath and turned the flashlight on in her little hand. **_

_**She was going in, scary monsters, frogs, and all.**_

* * *

"Oomph!"

Willow tripped over the offending branch, nearly losing her footing in the process. She stopped, sucking in a deep breath. The redhead regained her equilibrium, congratulating herself on avoiding the impending fall and stepped forward again.

(Which naturally ended up being a big mistake despite Willow's innate diligence for caution)

Her feet skidded over slightly damp, uneven grassy ground. With a yelp Willow fell, causing a very ungracious landing on her keester.

It was now dark with only the moonlight to guide her, which did little good considering the increasing cloud cover. The humidity was rising and Willow point blank refused to give credence to the smell of impending rain in the air. Her self-allotted half hour to find the elusive blonde woman from the party had been up an hour and twenty minutes ago. Initially Willow had skirted this part of the grounds, hoping to discover the woman walking along the same route or maybe hiding in a stable or some other covering. As the redhead continued walking, neither the blonde nor any type of building or shelter had appeared. She had spotted a dirt path leading into thick wooded area, just as she had been ready to give up. Having a surge of bravado, Willow had set off into the area, trying to convince herself that the area really wasn't that thick. She had stumbled on until realizing she was completely and irrefutably lost.

It hadn't been long before fatigue and a sense of futility set in, having caused Willow to seriously question her sanity (or lack thereof). Who in their right mind wandered around in the dark on a grounds of a very large estate, searching for someone they had only glimpsed less than 10 seconds at a party?

(Well, in a non nefarious sort of way, at any rate)

So in order to forestall panic, questions of lunacy, and a major babbling attack, Willow had sought comfort and courage through her habitual rubbing of her mitzpah coin on her charm bracelet. With each step the rubbing had become more and more frequent and frantic, with the increasing pressure causing the clasp to snap. It had been disconcerting to say the least (actually more like cold sweat inducing) and as Willow stuffed the broken bracelet into her slacks pocket, she had done her level best make light of it.

(No, it wasn't an omen. It was just a random type thing. Just because it was dark...and she was lost in a forest...okay, a wooded area on a rich man's estate but still...)

Next movie night she was putting both feet down.

Xander lost all rights to choose a movie.

_Forever._

How could she have let him talk her into _Army of Darkness_?

Images of evil undead armies, chainsaws, arms and limbs being sawed off and blood spurting everywhere began to invade her already overtaxed anxiety filled mind.

Where the frilly heck was Bruce Campbell when you needed him?

"Are you always this light on your feet or are you deliberately falling to get me to come down and rescue you?"

Willow almost had a heart attack at the sound of the teasing female voice and froze.

"Up here."

The redhead slowly raised her eyes along the length of an oak tree towards the direction of the voice. Despite Willow's vision decreasing, there was enough sporadic moonlight to spot a seemingly female figure. She was sitting on what looked like a landing in between a wooden fence, jutting out from a treehouse about 15 feet off the ground.

Okay, not Bruce Campbell.

Maybe a female Bruce Campbell?

"Um…I was just…looking around…" Willow sensed she was being scrutinized and desperately scanned the area searching for something reasonable to say instead of exposing her real reasons for being out there. Stalking people was not the first thing you should tell someone you just met.

"Looking around? You're over three miles from the house! Although I grant you, the term 'mansion' would work in that sentence as well."

Willow didn't answer, choosing instead to concentrate on firmly gripping the bumpy, somewhat moist ground while simultaneously trying to think up a more plausible explanation. After several unsuccessful attempts at rising (and no closer to thinking up a believable excuse), Willow finally stopped, aggravated.

"Oh H-E-Double hockey sticks!"

"Wow. That is definitely one of the most unique ways I've ever heard of to avoid cursing," the woman commented, clearly amused.

Willow glared her way and was just able to make out the small woman, who leaped down from the treehouse to softly land onto a large nearby branch. Purposely ignoring her earlier feeling of fright at being lost, Willow experienced a bit of annoyance at the need of this woman coming down to help her. The redhead prided herself on coming so far from the shy, young girl dependent on others into becoming a confident independent young woman.

(Really though deep down, she knew she was secretly _very_ glad this woman was here. But that didn't mean she would let the woman know it.)

"I am perfectly able to take care of myself, thank you very much. I don't need your help."

The woman didn't answer and simply jumped off the branch with a whoosh. She landed gracefully on her feet, and her silhouette seemed to saunter towards Willow. The intermittent moonlight faintly brought out the woman's features as she came closer, proving she was not just a figment of Willow's imagination.

The woman stopped a few feet in front of the redhead. Even with the woman's face partially obscured, Willow thought she was beautiful in just a ponytail, a casual tight short sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Standing in a cocky fashion with spread out legs and fists on her hips, the tiny woman evoked the image of Peter Pan. Willow didn't need to see the woman to know there was a smirk on her face.

And sure enough came the tease.

"Who said anything about me helping you up?"

"Well, I guess…um…" Willow faltered, searching for a way to maintain her dignity. "It's sorta an expected type thing…and-and you said something about you rescuing me and…I mean you're standing right there…and people who are where you are help others who are on the ground below them…" The redhead felt flustered and the woman began laughing. Pouting, Willow declared, "Hey! It's not funny! Here I am, unable to get up from a slippery type area and you're laughing at me!"

"No. No, it's not funny." The small woman turned sober and gave a slight bow. "And for that, I offer a heartfelt apology." She then ruined her act of contrition by adding with a smile in her voice, "But you have to admit-I'd say on a babbling scale from 1 to 10, it would definitely be a 9.5. Very cute."

Willow flushed with pleasure. "Cute huh?" For some reason Willow wanted to push the edge of the envelope with this woman. In a flirtatious voice she replied, "Just the babble then. Not me personally?"

There was a pregnant pause causing Willow to panic, thinking she had gone too far. After a moment however, the woman responded with a flirt of her own, "Well since I can't see you properly, you just have to wait for my decision on your hotness factor until we have better light."

At the woman's responding sexual tease the redhead felt the air rush back into her lungs in relief, followed by the rise of a fiery blush. It was bad enough she was stuck out here in the dark more or less at this woman's mercy, Willow certainly didn't need to embarrass herself in the process.

"Come on, I'll help you up." The small woman uncrossed her arms, letting them drop by her sides. "You can join me in my humble abode." Raising her hand , she jammed her thumb towards the treehouse. "Then you can tell me why you are really out here." The woman challenged, dropping her hand to rest on her hip. Willow blanched slightly, still worried about delving into her objective of the evening but then the woman's warm tone returned. "And bonus: mood lighting in the form of pretty, holiday type lights."

Willow relaxed and glancing up, remarked, "Which I don't see at the moment; not that I can see much of anything anyways. Do you always sit in treehouses in the dark?"

The woman shrugged it off. "It's no big." Then sounding remote, she added, "Besides, a person doesn't always need light to think."

Willow wondered at the implications behind this statement but chose to resist the temptation of comment. "I feel the need to warn you, my hands are still slightly dirty and damp."

"I know," the playful tone was back as the woman came closer and extended her hand. "We'll clean them up and make sure your behind dries...even at the possible removal of your pants."

Willow's heart beat faster and the blush returned to her face full force, coloring it fire engine red. She couldn't seem to stop blushing at any of this woman's comments. Willow had been flirted with in the past, but in just the short time she had been talking to this woman she had blushed more than she ever had in her entire life. The only reaction that came close was Tara...

The redhead shoved the unwanted revelation and any resulting implications safely in the back of her mind.

(Deep, deep in the back of her mind)

So choosing to stay in the land of denial, Willow quickly schooled her reaction and reached out to grasp the offered her.

* * *

A soft, strong hand tugged Willow to her feet.

The woman unintentional or not, tugged a bit too hard causing the redhead to land flush against her body. Willow's arms wrapped around the woman to steady herself on instinct while the woman's arms seemed to wrap around Willow of their own accord.

_Mmmm. Vanilla. She smells yummy like vanilla ice cream. _

Willow burrowed deeper into the surprisingly warm body (considering the chill of the night) and sighed. For the first time since Tara's death, Willow was at peace. She didn't want to move. Neither did the other woman apparently. What sounded like a contented purr vibrated through their bodies and the woman's hold tightened.

(This was familiar...warm and safe in the arms of a protector...someone who monster proofed her seven year old world-)

"Buffy?"

* * *

_**Willow sniffled and rubbed her eyes with her tiny, freckled fists**_

_**She tried. She had tried real hard but she just couldn't do it. **_

_**Willow just couldn't find the courage to crawl through the bushes.**_

_**She was a wimp. A big, big wussy wimp. A big wimp filled with wussiness and-**_

_**Suddenly, the bushes shook. They spooked her so much she jumped.**_

_**But then Buffy's head peeked out! **_

_**Buffy grinned. "Hi, Willow!"**_

_**The little redhead felt relief and happiness at seeing her friend. But then Willow remembered why she came out here and she pouted.**_

"_**Buffy, why did you leave the party? There were big, scary adult type people. I...I thought we going to play Barbies!" **_

_**Willow sniffled some more and Buffy's face fell. "You didn't tell me you were going to the fort! You just left me all alone."**_

_**Buffy stood up and looked embarrassed as she came over her friend, taking Willow's hand in her smaller yet stronger one. The little redhead brought up her free arm to her tear streaked face. Willow used her jacket sleeve not only to get rid of any snot, but to hide her blush as well. For some reason she always felt shy whenever Buffy took her hand. **_

"_**I'm sorry, Willow. I was gonna come back soon. Honest! I just had to get away from those stupid people so I ran to the fort." Buffy pouted then dropped her head. "I should have told you."**_

_**Willow felt bad for doubting her friend and began to apologize, speaking really, really fast.**_

"_**Oh! It's okay, Buffy! Really and truly! It was just that the adult type people were all evil and scary and you are always there, but you weren't there, so I couldn't find you...and then Ms. Calendar said she saw you-"**_

_**Buffy raised her head, grinning. "Willow! Breathe." **_

_**The little redhead flushed, thinking it was a good thing Buffy stopped her babbling cuz she was feeling like she was gonna pass out!**_

_**Buffy swung their hands slightly and said shyly, "I had to get your surprise ready." **_

_**Willow's eyes widened. "You..You got me a surprise?"**_

_**Buffy nodded happily, shyness disappearing and she began to bounce in place. **_

"_**What is it?" Willow wanted to know. **_

_**Buffy gave her friend the "duh!" look.**_

"_**If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore!"**_

_**Willow thought that over. "That makes sense." Then Willow's smile spread from ear to ear. "Let's go so you can show me!" **_

_**Her friend tugged on their already joined hands and beamed. "Okay! Follow me."**_

_**The little redhead nodded eagerly, feeling so warm and happy inside. Not only had Buffy come to rescue her but Buffy was giving her a gift too!**_

_**Willow loved her friend so much.**_

_**She did her best to try not to think about Buffy moving and leaving her all alone.**_

_**Alone in a world filled with monsters. **_

_**Who would rescue her then?**_

* * *

Willow hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud until she felt the woman stiffen.

"What did you just call me?"

The questioning tone was guarded, bordering on hostile and Willow froze.

What had she just done? And why was it greeted with such defensive anger? The name "Buffy" had fallen off her lips almost naturally, too fast for her to censor.

"Uh..." Willow tried to re-group, lifting her burrowed head slightly from the woman's shoulder but not far enough to look the woman in the eye. Instead Willow settled her gaze in front of her, desperately trying her best to ignore the woman's delicate, very nibble-y ear in her peripheral vision.

"Um...you're Elizabeth Summers right? I heard that some people with that name use the nickname 'Buffy', so I was thinking...ya know...I could too and-"

"_I_ don't."

The words were clipped, signaling an end to the discussion but Willow felt the need to apologize anyways. Praying to any deity that was listening to curb her babbling tendencies, she drew a deep breath seeking composure.

"Uh...yeah...sorry! I didn't mean to offend you. Really!" But Willow knew she had. It was obvious when the woman didn't respond, choosing instead to abruptly cut off her hold from Willow and stepped back.

Curving her body so that her features were hidden in the shadows, the woman (or presumably "Elizabeth") coldly remarked, "Look, you shouldn't be out here. I don't suppose you know your way back so I guess I'll have to take you to the house myself. Wait here and I'll get a lantern."

* * *

Willow was bewitched, bothered, and bewildered.

(And not just in a sexual way either)

Was the fleeting hope of this woman being "her Buffy" nothing more than just wishful thinking? The night's events were giving Willow a headache. Too much to wrap her head around. Why the chilly reaction when all the woman could have said was, "I think you have me confused with someone else"?

These thoughts went as quickly as they came in the wake of Elizabeth climbing up the long trunk to the treehouse. Well, what Willow could glimpse of her through the now few bursts of moonlight that is. The redhead was spellbound, struck by the beauty of how such raw power and strength could translate into such feline grace.

The spell though was broken at the boom of thunder. Willow's head jerked up to see the flash of lightening in the sky. Scattered rain drops began to splash the redhead's face, her eyelids fluttering to keep the water out. Willow ducked her head, flying her hand up to cover her face. She groaned softly; it seemed the fates were happy to throw one more irritating thing her way.

Willow didn't know why she even bothered watching the Weather Channel. There was the Farmer's Almanac but the old fashioned sticking one's head out the window seemed far more accurate, oddly enough. Regardless of the means, if the past few days of showers were anything to go by perhaps she shouldn't have been entirely surprised at today's rain.

"Go up into the treehouse. Now."

Willow's head whipped up, a loud authoritative voice cutting through the bangs of thunder. The closeness of the command caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. Her hand shielding her face from the raindrops jerked away from her brow as if somehow burned in the cold rain.

Before Willow had time to process anything, a lantern was shoved into her hands. As if on automatic impulse her eyes darted to the lantern. The redhead simply stupidly stared at the light, momentarily forgetting her soaking clothes and hair as the rain began in earnest.

It was the sputtering of mouthfuls of water and rapid blinking that finally propelled Willow into action and out of her stupor.

* * *

"Elizabeth" had made it clear that her instructions be followed to the letter so Willow could only assume that any opposite reaction would garner no help whatsoever.

Seeing anything in the rain was next to impossible and the grounds of the estate were confusing enough in the dark. And of course carrying a dead cell phone didn't help things either.

(Damn, Willow knew she should have charged the phone before she had left the house)

If she wanted to survive she needed to trust this mysterious, cold woman. And the strange thing _was_ she did, regardless of the woman's identity.

(Or maybe it was _because _of her identity)

Maybe "Buffy" was rescuing her Willow after all.

Her other hand protecting her face, Willow began to move forward gingerly with the lantern gripped tightly in her hand.

* * *

It was surreal in a way.

The rain was a curtain and the only way she knew where she was heading was a bright light shining from the treehouse.

(Like a lighthouse guiding the sailors through a storm, Willow thought.)

Willow had always liked the rain. California winter rain may not be on the same scale of an East Coast snowfall but there was still a noticeable chill. This was her favorite time to curl up by the fire; losing herself in the Artful Dodger teaching Oliver Twist the ins and outs of pickpocketing on the busy London streets, Sherlock Holmes once again thwarting the evil plans of Professor Moriarty, or perhaps, in need of a "merry war" as Beatrice and Benedick make _Much Ado About Nothing_.

Now Willow had no such luxury. Still, as she made her trek towards the treehouse through the storm, her mind split between reality and fantasy. Conscious mind focused on the struggle (on something like autopilot really) while the other part of her mind drifted into a delightful fantasy.

(Willow would be warm and snug in Buffy's arms, protected as the storm raged outside the treehouse that was nestled safely above within the large trees. And in this dream reality it would be Buffy, she was sure of it. There would have been immediate recognition and a blissful reunion, as the past and the present would be indistinguishable, existing out of time and space. There would be no need to talk as they simply enjoyed the comfortable silence between them.)

Willow was so lost in her cavity-inducing Danielle Steele daydream, she nearly hit the trunk, lantern and all.

"What the hell took you so long?" The annoyed voice carried from above.

"Um sorry, I-" a boom cut off whatever Willow was saying. She chanced a look up above, using her whole arm not just her hand for shielding her face. The rain was still thick but with the light of lantern hanging on a large hook by the treehouse door, Willow was able to make out a few specifics.

Elizabeth herself was nowhere to be seen. The treehouse seemed larger and taller than she had originally thought; well, if the front was any indication. On either side of the wooden door were two medium sized windows with a faint glow peeking through closed curtains. The wooden railing running along the outer rim on either side of the treehouse entrance seemed sturdy, despite the wet. The redhead was happy to see the roof was bigger and the awning came out farther from the house than Willow had initially suspected, providing more shelter.

The whole thing actually looked rather rustic and the redhead was reminded of an old fashioned cabin out in the woods. There was something about the treehouse that reminded Willow of something she couldn't quite pin down...she was too weary however to do any deep introspection and dropped her gaze to the bottom of the large tree trunk. Its summit looming above her, all Willow could think of was scaling Mount Everest. She shivered not just from the cold and wet but also from anxiety. Sucking in a deep breath, Willow brought resolve face full force trying her best to ignore the babbling inside her head.

_I can do this. So what if I slip, falling to the ground and break my leg or maybe my arm? She probably has a cell phone. Okay, so she looks like she doesn't want to use it but still... I mean it would be easy to get me air lifted to a hospital..._

Willow began what was an unsuccessful (not a surprise considering how her night was going) attempt at climbing the steps screwed into the trunk of the tree. The slick tree combined with holding onto a lantern one handed made her unable to grasp anything, causing her to feel and fear a fall was imminent. Unable to shield her face with her hand while climbing at the same time didn't help matters either.

But resolve face was out and she would not give up!

(even though she really, really wanted to)

Suddenly a hand slung around Willow's waist, while the other joined hers on the ladder one rung down from her own hand. The voice in her ear said, "It's okay. I've got you. Just take one step at a time and hold onto the step to lift yourself up but you still need to hold the lamp." And then Willow heard an amused chuckle, with a little tease, "I only have so many hands."

(Okay, maybe she would accept _some_ help. It's not like she was admitting defeat or anything)

After a nod (and a shot of desire into her nether region), Willow slowly began to climb vaguely wondering where the heck Elizabeth was previously. But really, where the woman had been didn't matter, Willow realized. Elizabeth was here behind Willow and that was all that mattered at the moment. Inch by inch and step by step, they made their way; up in the heavy rain, fearsome thunder, and flashes of lightening, all with the comfort of Elizabeth's warm protection behind Willow's back.

For what had seemed like a lifetime to Willow, the last step was taken and her hand landed on a flat plane of wood jutting out. The rain had eased a bit and she paused to catch a breath. At a nudge, a resolute Willow used strength she didn't know she possessed and flung herself over the last hurdle, her right hand clutching the closest fence post. In the other hand, her lantern swung precariously. For a moment Willow feared the lantern would fall, but then she was able to steer it to land with a thud next to her.

The entrance seemed so far away to the exhausted redhead. Willow shivered from the cold and wet, wondering how on earth she would find the strength to stand and make it inside. Leading to further dismay was the loss of warmth and safety behind her back. The loss however was happily brief as Elizabeth had simply switched to her side, wrapping and securing an arm around Willow's waist.

"It's only a bit further." Elizabeth's voice in her ear encouraged. The woman's strong arm and hands began to lift Willow up to shakily stand. "But you have to help."

Willow gave a curt nod and even with the help, she struggled to stand on the slippery plank. Now that she was standing, the walk to the door didn't seem quite as intimidating. The door was only three to four steps away and with the roof blocking off some of the rain the wood was drier. With the light from her lantern combined with the light from the lantern hanging by the door, the path was much easier to see.

But when she made it to the doorway, fatigue reared its ugly head again. The door seemed almost too large and the soaked redhead felt awkward as she fumbled with the door knob. Elizabeth reached round her, opening the sturdy wood door easily and handed Willow the lantern before giving her a gentle push through the doorway.

Before Willow could make heads or tails out of her surroundings, she thought she heard a scraping noise. Willow felt Elizabeth releasing her hold and above the din, the woman cursed like a sailor. Leaning back into Willow, Elizabeth shouted in her ear about towels being next to the door.

Then the woman rushed away, slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

Willow was dimly aware that (thankfully) she stood on a rather large, wide mat, considering she was drenched and water was running off of her like a river.

She promptly set the lamp down to her right and grabbed one of the fluffy towels laying on top of a trunk on her left side. With cold, tired arms and hands, Willow did her best to dry her hair and towel down her body and clothes, all the while feeling a sense of futility at the act.

Even with the consolation of the inside being warmer, she was still shivering. There really was only one way to get well and truly dry and that constituted of the removal of wet clothes, which was not something on the top of Willow's list to do. The thought of her naked body on display for Elizabeth to see flashed through her brain. As embarrassing as those musings were (and mentally chastising herself for thinking what a thrill it might be if this really happened), these thoughts jolted the rate of blood flow high enough to tackle removing her socks and shoes.

Instead of tempting fate by falling over, Willow walked a few paces into the interior and tried to ease onto the carpet that wound up to be more of a plop. Her boots put up quite the struggle being so wet inside, but after a minute the task was complete. Willow tossed her boots unceremoniously into the corner next to the trunk, coming next to the peeling of her socks. This proved even more exasperating than the shoes, as they wanted to stick to her skin like all cold wet things did. But the socks at last came off and she wiggled her cold tootsies, making a face at the feeling of dampness between each toe.

Willow scooped up the towel laying next to her when a sudden, violent shiver went through her body. The exhausted, chilled to the bone redhead resigned herself to the inevitable stripping, and wondered how she could do this without resorting to wearing only the other towel laying on the trunk.

As Willow did a thorough job of rubbing her feet and toes dry, her eyes strayed towards the trunk, taking it in fully. Resting next to the other towel was a pair of sweat pants while just above them was a hoodie hanging on a hook. They would do nicely, she thought (all the while willing herself not to feel guilty or embarrassed about dressing in the other woman's clothes without permission).

Quickly Willow stripped off her pants and stood. She snagged the sweat pants and stepping into them, feeling the irrational urge to giggle at how short they were on her. The redhead fought her sweater and finally internally declaring victory in taking it off, she set the sweater aside on the floor. Hesitating, an _Aw, screw it_ went through her mind. Willow flicked the hook on her bra open and swiftly taking it off with the practiced ease of nearly all lesbians everywhere, she then halfheartedly tossed the bra on top of her sweater. Lifting the hoodie off its hook, she slid her arms through and zipped it up. Willow marveled at how incredibly soft, thick, and warm it was, causing her to hum in delight at the feel of it against her cold skin. Now dressed in dry clothes, the redhead was beginning to relax and combined with the warmth she was on the edge of sleep.

Willow was sorely tempted to leave her liter of clothes where they were but embarrassment at the thought of doing so (not to mention the prospect of damp clothing later on) prompted her to arrange the clothes into some resemblance of order. The wet towel was placed on the hook and she spread her wet clothes out off to the side. They weren't the most organized but they were out of the way and that was all that counted.

As she lay out her pants, her broken mitzpah coin fell out of her pocket. Willow sent a fervent thanks to the deities for the broken bracelet staying in her pants pocket throughout the ordeal. Willow grasped it from the floor and righting herself, she tenderly put it in her hoodie pocket, hoping it would stay.

Just as her tired eyes spotted a a small sofa low on the ground, Willow was distracted by the loud sudden sound of a few bangs and scraping against the treehouse. She vaguely wondered if a tree branch would crash through one of the windows. Willow knew she should be concerned, but the banging and scraping ceased as fast as they had arrived. Elizabeth seemed to have things well in hand, so she lay any fears to rest. (Or maybe Willow was simply too tired to care, she wasn't sure which.) All Willow really wanted was some place to sit, be warm, and rest. Her stomach was empty, but food would have to wait as the redhead felt like she would fall asleep standing up.

Willow returned her focus to the small sofa. Although she couldn't tell what sofa was made of, it looked soft, had a blanket and a pillow. She stumbled over to the sofa and fell ungraciously onto to it. The redhead was asleep before her head hit the pillow, the folded blanket on top of the sofa untouched.

Willow never heard the door open or the activity of someone moving around the room. She never felt the two thick blankets draped over her, the fingers softly moving the wet bangs off her face, nor the kiss on her forehead. And she never heard the soft, sweet whisper in her ear.

"Hello, my Willow. Your Buffy is here."


End file.
